The Matterhorn appears as an immovable, massive mountain that has towered over the landscape near Zermatt, Switzerland for thousands of years. A study published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters now shows that this impression is wrong. An international research team has proven that the Matterhorn is instead constantly in motion, swaying gently back and forth about once every two seconds. This subtle vibration with normally imperceptible amplitudes is stimulated by seismic energy in the Earth originating from the world’s oceans, earthquakes, as well as human activity. Installation of a seismometer near the summit of the Matterhorn. Photo: Jan Beutel Every object vibrates at certain frequencies when excited, like a tuning fork or the strings of a guitar. These so-c...
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It was 150 years ago that the Matterhorn was climbed for the first time. This was a pioneering achievement by the Englishman Edward Whymper and his 6 companions, which gave a kick-start to tourism in Zermatt. During that time Zermatt was a remote mountain village that was only reachable by feet. With the many tourists coming to Zermatt after the first ascent of the Matterhorn, the need of a train connection became necessary. In July 1891, the pioneering construction of a train line between Visp and Zermatt was inaugurated, and it celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2016. This was also the first step for the famous Glacier Express route between Zermatt and St. Moritz, which is now operational for more than 85 years. Nowadays 200,000 guests from 120 different countries are travell...
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